anyone ever load two balls per chamber?

[AbitNutz]

It just occurred to me that I have several cylinders in my ROA that have been deepened. It really works well when you want to shoot longer, heavier bullets. Power and accuracy are really very good.

But having deepened chambers will allow me to load two round balls per chamber with a half decent charge. Or a round ball followed by one my 150gr BigLube bullets.

I'm pretty sure I can get 25 to 30 gr of T7 behind a round ball and a BigLube 150. I'm really curious to see what the accuracy and pattern will be.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've done it with ML'ing rifles and smooth bores with light charges and no space between the balls, and I've done it with shotshells, but I'm not sure what the effect would be since you have a gap and forcing cone involved in a revolver.

 

[Jaymo]

I used to shoot double ball loads in my .44 mag. I loaded them to .44 special pressures just for fun.
Try it and let us know how it works. Mine would put 2 .44 balls within a couple of inches of each other at 20 yards.

 

[AbitNutz]

That's an interesting thought. I can take my external loader and squish my 155 gr BigLube on top of a round ball so there will be no gap but what happens when they cross the cylinder to chamber gap?

I'm of the opinion that there's just about nothing that can hurt an ROA short of non black powder. I have loaded this gun with everything that I can cram with great force into the chambers. The fireworks are impressive but ultimately nothing more than a bigger boom.

 

[arcticap]

There's smokeless factory revolver ammo that's loaded with 2 balls for law enforcement use so 2 balls should certainly pass through the revolver gap safely.

 

[Cosmoline]

I wonder what the "law enforcement use" is on that?

 

[messerist]

Yes.

 

[arcticap]

The New York City PD stopped using .38 Special FMJ ammo because the bullets would pass right through an assailant and hit innocent bystanders. I think that this type of ammo is a way for [urban] police departments to avoid generating expensive lawsuits and harming innocent bystanders caused by shooting through assailants, apartment walls etc...

 

[goon]

I shot some of that Remington multi-ball ammo once - a friend gave me almost a whole box.
It worked fine and seemed to hit pretty hard, but I think the two balls sort of swaged themselves together during firing and acted like one ball. I've thought about trying to reload some of my own but I'm not sure there would be a point.
And .410 000 buck shotshells are basically loaded with the pellets stacked in a straight column - no big deal.

FWIW, there are accounts of muzzleloaders being loaded with two balls back in the day. I read one account of a young man whose home was being attacked by Indians. He had to quickly load the rifle without a patch and just crammed two balls down, then fired and killed his attacker. Also, I've read in Crucible of War that Wolfe ordered the center of the British line to load their Brown Besses with two balls each when the British attacked Quebec during the French and Indian War. I shudder to think about the effect of this on closely massed French forces.

 

[Vermonter]

I've loaded two balls on 25g of 777 in my ROA with deepened cylinders. Seemed to work good, it had a good kick.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=591211

 

[roklok]

I have loaded two balls in my .60 longrifle. Balls hit about 4 inches apart at 50 yards. The patching Keeps them from swaging together in a rifle.

 

[Busyhands94]

i do i all the time! seems to work well enough!